EZ Smart Guide 100" System

Rich Aldrich

Member
Messages
296
Location
Manistique, Michigan
As a follow-up, a few months ago, I bought the EZ Smart Guide System from Hartville Tool. I actually just used it last weekend for the first time.

I like how the cuts are clean and the system is easy to use. I did not find the set up too difficult. If you go to Sawmill Creek website there are several links to Youtube. The videos are really a good guide for people like me that learn better by watching.

The keys to this system is 1) never start the saw with the blade plunged and 2) never lift the saw off the guide with the blade turning.

First, never start the saw with the blade plunged. The anti chip insert that clips to the saw base breaks and goes flying. They sell the system with two of these inserts. You have to start the blade turning above the anit chip edges and then plunge the saw into the work.

Second, never lift the saw off the guide with the blade turning. This is why they recommend a saw with a brake. When you do lift the saw with the blade turning, the blade damages the anti chip edge.

I was able to break down 4 sheets of plywood without help in 2 hours. I had a lot of pieces to cut for a sewing center I am building for a neighbor. Laying out the pieces took the most time. The accuracy is in the layout. Lining up the edge to the mark and cutting is easy and accurate.

This system makes plywood sheet cutting very safe for one person. The whole thing cost $175 shipped on sale. I was able to use an existing circular saw, a Bosch CS20 - I did have to go out and buy one.

I would definitely recommend this system to anyone who breaks down a lot of sheet goods and works alone. It makes the job very safe.
 
I'd recommend that they get the 114" system it gives you a 50" & a 64" bar put together it gives you a long enough bar to start your saw well past the end of a full 8' sheet & end past the other end of the sheet when ripping it length wise. The 65" does the same when cross cutting the sheet.
 
Rich, Rich, Rich...

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Just kidding...How does the Ez Smart clamp to the wood? Do you have to use your own clamps or are the built on?
 
Darren:

There are EZ clamps that fit right into the aluminum extrusions to clamp to the wood.

It's a really slick system with lots of different ways to expand capabilities - squaring guide, router guide, etc. It's almost as slippery a slope as hand tools or turning - and this is before looking at their powerbridge craziness.

I am thankful to the folks here who suggested I get the 114" set and a 32" rather than 24" shorter piece for crosscutting (I also got the square guide piece when I placed my first order).

If you invest in one of their SmartTable kits, do youself a favor - stick to the 2' by 4' quarter ply sheet to build it on and don't succumb to the temptation that the 3' by 5' offcut you have in the corner would be much better. DAMHIKT. :doh: The smaller table stores in much less space and, at half the weight of 3' by 5', is much less likely to exacerbate a slowly healing back injury. I figured out this second part a priori and have not moved my behemoth table since before October.
 
Since Darren needs pictures, he can find them here. :D :D

I have the same system that Mark has - 114", plus 32", and the square. I may (or may not) have been the one who recommended it to him. IMO, this setup makes the most versatile set.

Note that if you start the saw - already set to depth - off the edge of the plywood, it doesn't chew up the insert.

Also, for safety reasons, NEVER (!) lift the saw off the track while it's still running.

Mark's right about the table size, although I must admit I used a half sheet of Baltic Birch (30" X 60") for mine. I originally built it to set across two sawhorses, but a few weeks later I came across a set of folding legs for ten bucks, so I bought them and installed them on my table. The whole thing weighs maybe 40 pounds, so it isn't all that bad to move around - unless, like Mark (and also me, at times) you have a pinched nerve in your back.

BTW Mark - have you tried a chiropractor? It did wonders for me. I haven't needed a Vicodan for about three months, now.
 
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Jim - you were one of the major advisers to get the setup we each have - again, thank you - you steered me right! :thumb:

Regarding the back, even when it acts up now, it's controllable with rest and naproxen, so I'm gonna give it another few months of trying to not aggravate it before getting excited. I have been kicking around the idea of a chiropractor if it doesn't eventually get all better. Right now, I think I'm just in "backs take a very long time to heal" territory. :dunno:

I'm sure losing some weight would help. In fact, one of life's little ironies, my injury happened at the gym while trying to do just that. :rofl: :huh:
 
rich dont have one but have seen them in action,, glad it worked out for you so well.. and when yu get alittel further along post some pics of your sewing center your building:thumb: some day i will get back up yur way:thumb: so dont give up the ship yet:)
 
I'd recommend that they get the 114" system it gives you a 50" & a 64" bar put together it gives you a long enough bar to start your saw well past the end of a full 8' sheet & end past the other end of the sheet when ripping it length wise. The 65" does the same when cross cutting the sheet.

Buying this kit, I got by for $175. I could find the 114 kit for $265 at the lowest cost. If the extra length is better, I can buy the 18" with two center kits for $65 and still only have $240 into the system. Or would I be better off with the 32" extention rather than the 18"?

At some point I will do this, but I have been working on additional tools for the shop - prioritizing where to spend money.
 
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Note that if you start the saw - already set to depth - off the edge of the plywood, it doesn't chew up the insert.

Also, for safety reasons, NEVER (!) lift the saw off the track while it's still running.

The insert snapped off and went flying. It hit my plywood instorage like someone threw a bolt. I am not sure it was trimmed well or the plastic base on the Bosch deflected the first time I trimmed it, so it wasn't trimmed properly. I am seriously considering a different saw - like the Makita 5007 MGA, which has a brake to stop the blade faster.

I agree about lifting the saw off the track , but old habits are hard to break. I did this twice, then learned how much it chews up the anti chip edge.
 
Rich - If you really like the system, I would wait for a good sale on a 64" rail. Then you could chop one of your 50" rails at 32".

Joining three should work fine, and for ripping / edge jointing board longer than 8' is what you have to do, but the above is what I personally would do knowing how much I like using the 64" and 50" rails. Like Bart mentioned, a single 64" rail gives a really good grip on the 4' sheet dimension. When I'm making one big panel out of a 4' by 8' sheet (for example, 30" by 70"), I'll go back and forth between my 50" and 64" rails together and separate.

Don't worry about doing this now, just enjoy your new tool!
 
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